Swearing is often frowned on in society. Some, for example, view swear words as “Ugly and unwholesome words with no good purpose.” Synonyms for “swear word,” such as “profanity” and “obscene language,” have negative connotations in and of themselves. However, people who swear enjoy several benefits that the puritans who abstain from swearing do not:
1. Swearing can relieve pain.
Have you ever said a swear word (or several) after getting unexpectedly hurt? If so, it will probably be no surprise that swearing can relieve pain. This may relate to the fact that it is linked to emotion more than to language in the brain. For instance, a patient with semantic aphasia (“loss of recognition of the meaning of words and phrases”) could only say simple words like "yes" or "no" but still swore in frustrating situations.
Swearing too much, though, reduces its ability to relieve pain. Like many good things, it can be unhealthy if used too much. For instance, did you know that you can die from a water overdose? It is best used in moderation.
2. People who swear are smarter and have larger vocabularies.
A friend of mine once said that she doesn't like swear words because using swear words shows you can't think of better words to use. Under this logic, swearing shows that you have a limited vocabulary and are probably stupid. This may seem like “common sense” at first; in fact, I believed it for a long time myself.
However, it is wrong on multiple levels. It assumes that whenever a swear word is used, another word would be "better" in its place. The argument only makes sense if swear words are bad compared to every other word. In other words, swear words are bad because swear words are bad.
Even ignoring the circular logic, research suggests that the objection is probably wrong. People who swear tend to be more intelligent and have larger vocabularies than people who don’t:
[A] voluminous taboo lexicon may better be considered an indicator of healthy verbal abilities rather than a cover for their deficiencies," the researchers conclude. "Speakers who use taboo words understand their general expressive content as well as nuanced distinctions that must be drawn to use slurs appropriately. The ability to make nuanced distinctions indicates the presence of more rather than less linguistic knowledge, as implied by the POV [Poverty of Vocabulary] view." ... As Stephen Fry once said, "The sort of twee person who thinks swearing is in any way a sign of a lack of education or a lack of verbal interest is just f*cking lunatic.”
We can’t assume that this means swearing causes people to become smarter and to have a bigger vocabulary, but the available research shows that people who connect swearing to stupidity are wrong.
3. Swearing shows social closeness.
Using too much formal language can be very awkward in everyday life. I have found that formal language is often used for two reasons: to show neutral objectivity and to make yourself look impressionable. Using a lot of formal language, then, will either show emotionless detachment or that you are trying to impress someone – or both. These make you seem less relatable. Even on professional resumes, some say it is better to “avoid overly formal language to make yourself approachable.”
Swearing, which can probably be considered the opposite of formal language, "is more common in relaxed settings ... [and] may encourage and facilitate social bonding" because it provides a feeling of casualness. It also shows trust. As you can tell by thinking about the literal meanings of common swear words, swear words usually come from cultural taboos. Swearing in conversations with friends, then, shows that you trust them not to judge you for breaking social norms.
There are probably plenty of other benefits to swearing – most notably that it can be really funny – but these are probably enough to show the good that comes from "bad language."
